


Connected Souls

by Eternal_Olicity



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), olicity - Fandom
Genre: Best Friends, F/M, part canon part AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-18
Updated: 2016-09-03
Packaged: 2018-05-07 10:40:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5453693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eternal_Olicity/pseuds/Eternal_Olicity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Nine year old Oliver meets Eight year old felicity he knows they will be friends for life. As they grow they realise that what is between them is more than friendship but something bigger. Oliver's boat trip to China changes everything. Can our couple fight through the darkness or is all lost</p>
<p> </p>
<p>possible spoilers</p>
<p>no copyright infringement intended</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi This is my Entry in the Olicity fic bang 2015
> 
> big thanks to the wonderful gang to put this great collection together

Eight year old Felicity Smoak was used to being surrounded by strangers, her mother Donna was a waitress at one of the biggest hotels in Las Vegas and sometimes she had no choice but to accompany her mother to work, and although Donna was busy serving drinks and food to the guests she never had to worry about Felicity as she knew that everyone who she worked with doted on her daughter so she was always being watched. Today the hotel was busier than usual and the staff had a lot of customers to deal with.

 

Nine year old Oliver Queen was bored; even sitting by the swimming pool taking a break after messing around in the water. His father was here on business and his mother was occupied taking care of his baby sister Thea. His best friend Tommy was back in Starling City and without his partner in crime, really the trouble they would get themselves into was impressive, he lacked ways to have fun.

 

Felicity looked up to see a group of older kids led by one of neighbours children Dale. Dale prided himself on making Felicity’s life a misery. He would tease her about her glasses and call her names for being a genius, and the worst of all, he would taunt her about her father being gone. For the first six years of her young life Felicity had had the perfect childhood, two parents who loved each other and their young daughter. All that changed one day when her father Joel walked out on them without any warning. She had woken to hear her parents fighting, she could hear her mother crying and begging him not to go, not to leave them. Felicity ran to the window just in time to see her father get into his car and drive away. He hadn’t even said goodbye.

Felicity turned away hoping that the gang would leave her alone, no such luck though. Dale and his minions walked over to the table where Felicity was colouring picture for part of a project she had been given to do over the summer. Dale stood by the table. ‘Well if it isn’t freaky Felicity and all her friends,’ he said laughing as Felicity sat alone at the table, his gang laughing along with him. Felicity sat up straight pushing her glasses up. ‘Go away Dale,’ she said acting braver than she was feeling. Dale laughed again before picking up the book she had been reading and throwing it on the ground. She stood up and bent down to pick up the book when Dale pushed her over on to the ground causing her to scrape her knee on the hot concrete before running away with his gang, all of them laughing.

Oliver had heard voices nearby. He looked up to see a group of boys that looked around his age and he watched as they made their way over to a table where a young girl sat reading. Oliver couldn’t take his eyes off her, she was the prettiest girl he had seen, her mousey brown hair was tied up in identical pigtails and she wore a pretty sundress with flowers on it. He couldn’t hear what the boys were saying to her but he watched as she sat up straighter, pushing her glasses up as she glared at the boy who stood closest. Oliver could tell this boy was the leader of this gang, he had a bad feeling and after taking a look at his mother, who was busy feeding Thea, he stood up and made his way over to the table just as the boy picked up the book and threw it on the ground. He started to run as the bully pushed the pretty girl to the ground before running away laughing.

 

Tears formed in Felicity’s eyes as she tried to pick herself up. A shadow on the ground made her look up. Afraid that Dale had come back to kick her while she was down she saw a pair of beautiful blue eyes belonging to a boy with dark blonde hair and a sweet smile. He held his hand out to help her up and she took it. ‘My name is Oliver, are you okay?’ he asked still holding her hand. Felicity nodded while blinking back the tears in her eyes. ‘I’m Felicity, yes, I’m okay,’ she said but as she moved she took a deep breath as pain shot through her knee. She looked down to see her knee scraped and bleeding. Oliver noticed as well and grabbed a napkin from the table before dabbing it in a glass of water that felicity had been drinking from. ‘Here use this, it’ll help,’ he said handing her the napkin. She placed it on her knee and Oliver helped her into her seat. ‘Thank you,’ she said smiling at him and Oliver thought it was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. ‘Would you like to colour with me?’ she asked him holding up a blue pencil. ‘Sure,’ Oliver said, nodding before taking the pencil from her as Felicity pushed a colouring book in front of him.

Donna Smoak had just gone on a break and decided to check on her daughter. She made her way over to the table but stopped when she saw a young boy sitting at the table with Felicity, they were both chatting away and colouring and the sight melted Donna’s heart. She always worried about Felicity as she didn’t have many friends, she was very smart and had already skipped a year in school and looked like she would skip a few more before she graduated as an adult but Felicity’s intelligence intimidated the other kids and as a result they tended to avoid her.

Donna walked over to the table. ‘Hi baby girl, who’s this?’ she asked looking at Oliver. He stood and held his hand out to Donna, the way he had seen his dad do with business men and women when he had visited the office before. ‘I’m Oliver Queen,’ he said smiling. Donna smiled as shook his hand. ‘It’s nice to meet you Oliver, I’m Ms Smoak, Felicity’s mum.’ ‘Nice to meet you too,’ he replied nodding. ‘Oliver helped me when I fell over and now we’re colouring,’ she said ‘Are you okay?’ Donna asked worryingly. Felicity smiled. ‘Yes Oliver gave me a napkin to put on it so it doesn’t hurt anymore.’ ‘Okay then, how about I bring you some Ice cream and drinks, Oliver do you like Mint Chip?’ asked Donna and when Oliver said it was his favourite, she went to get it. ‘Why didn’t you tell your mum about that bully?’ Oliver asked and Felicity looked down at the picture she had been colouring. ‘I don’t want to worry her,’ she said simply. Oliver could tell she didn’t want to talk about it so he reluctantly let it go.

 

Moira Queen had just gotten her 6 month old daughter to sleep when she turned and noticed that Oliver was no longer on the sun lounger next to hers, she panicked for a moment before she spotted him at a table with a young girl. They were laughing and joking while sharing a bowl of ice cream, although she was upset that Oliver had gone off without telling her she couldn’t help but smile at how happy her son looked. Carefully picking up Thea she walked over to the table. ‘Oliver, who is this pretty young lady,’ she asked smiling at Felicity. Oliver’s face lit up. ‘Mum this is Felicity Smoak, my friend.’ ‘Well,’ said Moira, ‘it’s nice to meet you Felicity. Oliver, we have to leave to meet your father but maybe Felicity would be free tomorrow.’ Oliver looked at her with a face filled with hope. Felicity nodded. ‘Yep I’ll be here all day,’ she said smiling. Oliver left with him mum after promising that he would meet her there at the same time tomorrow and that if she brought her swimming costume then maybe she could join him in the pool.

 

That night as Donna tucked Felicity in bed she listened to her daughter talk about her new friend and as happy as she was, she worried what would happen when Oliver went home and Felicity was once again on her own.

 

For the next week Oliver and Felicity spent every day together, playing in the pool, colouring, playing crazy golf and eating a lot of mint chip ice cream. The day came when the Queen family would be returning to Starling city and the kids would have to say goodbye. Through tears they said their goodbyes and promised to write to each other. Oliver missed his friends in Starling, he missed Tommy who he thought of like a brother, he missed Laurel and her younger sister Sarah, the four of them where a team and he missed that but as much as he missed his friends while he was in Las Vegas, he knew it was nothing compared to how much he would miss Felicity. Even at nine years old he knew that she was different and he couldn’t imagine his life without her. Over the next couple of years the trip to Vegas became an annual thing and Oliver and Felicity always made sure that they spend time together. As close as they got their friendship grew deeper.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Copyright infringement intended 
> 
> Rated E for later chapters

Oliver finally closed the maths book he had been looking at but not really taking in. He had about an hour to get ready before he met Helena Bertinelli for their date. Once he and Tommy had hit thirteen then girls became their whole world, well that and partying. They were the most popular guys in school and the fact that they were both the sons of billionaires certainly didn’t hurt their appeal with the girls. Even so now at sixteen years old he still spoke to Felicity at least twice a week and she was still one of his closest friends. They would talk for hours and he would tell her all his secrets except the one that mattered most; that was something he could never tell her because the outcome could be too painful if it didn’t go his way. His secret: he was completely and totally in love with Felicity Meghan Smoak and had been since the day he saved her from a scraped knee, the problem was he was sure she saw him as a friend, one of her best friends, there was no denying that but he was sure it didn’t go past friendship for her and he decided a long time ago that he would rather have her in his life as just a friend than not at all. So he dated all he could and by the time he turned sixteen both himself and Tommy had built up reputations as playboys. 

While he put his books in his bag his phone rang and he smiled as Felicity’s picture appeared on the screen, the mousey pigtails had been replaced with straight jet black hair, her pale complexion more noticeable due to the dark makeup and the nose stud. His Felicity was certainly going through a Goth stage and Oliver thought she was stunning. He picked up his phone smiling. ‘Hey Felicity,’ he said happily. ‘Oliver you are never going to believe what happened,’ she said and he had to grin at the infectious excitement in her voice. ‘What happened?’ he asked laughing. ‘I got into MIT Oliver, I got the scholarship I applied for, I’m moving to Boston.’ Oliver was so happy for her, he knew that she had wanted this for so long, his parents had actually offered to pay for her tuition but she had said no, she wanted to do this herself so she had gotten a job in a small coffee shop to earn a bit of extra money and had applied for the scholarship. ‘I am so happy for you Felicity, you deserve this so much.’ They talked until it was time for Oliver to leave but he promised that he would call her the next day. They kept up their twice weekly calls and as much as it pained him, he was even happy for her when she told him she had met someone, Cooper Sheldon, a fellow MIT student and that they had started dating. She sounded really happy and that is all he wanted for her even if he wasn’t the one to give her that happiness.

The next couple of years flew by. Oliver had graduated just, (although it wasn’t because he wasn’t smart enough) and had already dropped out of two different colleges. He was out with the gang when his phone rang, he took it out of his pocket and frowned when he saw Felicity’s name appear, he knew she had needed to study that week and she had asked him if she could call him at the weekend instead and he had agreed so her calling now was unexpected. He answered quickly. ‘Hey Felicity,’ there was only silence for a few seconds before he heard a sob. ‘Oliver,’ she said through broken cries. ‘Felicity are you ok, what happened?’ he asked the panic evident in his voice. ‘Coopers dead, he was arrested and he hung himself,’ she said before breaking down in tears. ‘Oh Felicity I am so sorry,’ he said as he made his way back to the table and grabbed his coat before hurrying out the door with a quick, ‘I’ll call you later,’ to Tommy. Oliver rushed to his car and put the call on speaker as he drove, heading back to the Queen manor. Felicity had just cried on the phone until she told him she was going to try and sleep and they ended the call with Oliver telling her he was always there for her whenever she needed him. He ran into the house and with a quick explanation to his parents he ran up the stairs to his room, grabbing a bag and stuffing clothes into it as he rang the airline and booked a seat on the first flight to Boston.

Felicity had cried herself to sleep, she had been sleeping for about six and a half hours, not being able to cope with the pain and guilt over Cooper had driven her to exhaustion. A knock on the door woke her from a nightmare. Shakily she made her way to the door and opened it and was shocked to find Oliver standing there. He took one look at her and pulled her into his arms as she broke down. He held her while she sobbed and he held her as she told him what had happened, how she and Cooper had been part of an online group who called themselves Hacktivists. She went on to explain how she has written a computer virus that would allow them to infect any server and help uncover corruption and that Cooper had instead used it to try and wipe out student loans. As a result he had been arrested when the FBI had tracked him down, and how unable to cope with the thought of going to prison, he had hung himself before sentencing. They had talked for hours, Oliver just holding and supporting her. As the sun rose and she was sleeping Oliver had gone out and found a small café, buying waffles and pancakes with bacon and maple syrup and bagels and eggs and a few other things, he wanted to make sure she ate and he wanted her to have a choice, what they didn’t want he would give to someone else in the dorm. He also picked up two very large coffees, straight black for him and a fat free latte with extra sugar for her. He had a feeling that she would need it that morning.  
She was just waking when he returned; she looked so young and so lost. ‘I got breakfast, I know you are probably not hungry but you need to eat, here drink this’ he said as he handed her her latte ‘Thank you Oliver’ she said ‘I don’t know how I would have gotten through last night without you.’ They sat and ate, well Felicity picked at hers and only ate a little, Oliver had given the rest of the food they didn’t want to the girls in the dorm down the hall. He wished he could take the pain away for her, but he knows all he can do is be there for her.  
Over the next few days Oliver was her rock, he tried his best to make her smile and at times, he held her while she cried. They shared pizza and pints of mint chip, watched horror movies, because Oliver I can’t watch anything with romance in it she had said. Felicity didn’t know what she would have done without him there.

At the end of the week Oliver had no choice but to return to Starling City. He didn’t want to leave but he had to. She assured him that she was ok and they promised to Skype every night. Oliver hated the thought of leaving her, he wanted to tell her how much he loved her and how he wanted to make her happy but he knew it wasn’t the right time.   
For Felicity, Oliver had always been her best friend but for her it was always something more, she had loved him since he helped her as a child. She knew that Oliver was her best friend and could never be anything more because guys like Oliver Queen didn’t fall for girls like her so she had locked her feelings away and when she met Cooper she had let herself fall for him but her feelings for Cooper were just a shadow of what she felt for her best friend.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Copyright infringement intended 
> 
> Rated E for later chapters

Months past and things got a bit easier for Felicity, she focused on her school work and even got a part time job in a local coffee shop. Oliver made sure that no matter how busy they both were they both still found time to skype daily. One day Oliver answered a skype call from her, expecting to see her dark hair and makeup and was shocked (and blown away) to see her smiling back at him, with blonde hair in waves and light makeup. Although it wasn’t the look he was used to, she was still his Felicity and if it was possible, he fell in love with her even more. If in the that nights that followed, he dreamt about her blonde curls spread over his pillow while she moaned his name as he brought her to pleasure, well that was something he would keep to himself even if it did mean upping the amount of cold showers he forced himself to take.  
Oliver came down to breakfast one morning and found a letter addressed to him. He smiled recognising the handwriting and opened the envelope. He pulled out the letter and a card from inside, the grin on his face spread as he read the note:

Oliver

Well I did it, I can’t believe it but I am actually graduating from MIT, I couldn’t have done it without you, I know I never would have got through those dark times without your support.  
I would love it if you would come to my graduation, only if you have time of course, I’m sure you are really busy and the last thing you have time for is to fly thousands of miles to watch me in tripping over my own feet in my cap and gown and falling face first and I’m babbling - frack even in my letters I babble (Oliver chuckled at that) Anyway, I’ve included an invitation for you and your parents and Thea , only if they and you want to come, don’t feel like you have to.  
Just let me know and I’ll talk to you tonight.  
Felicity  
Oh and if you guys can make it my mum wants us all to go out for food after, again only if everyone wants to.  
Xx

Oliver smiled, he would ask his parents over lunch but he knew without a doubt that he would be there. He would have to think about a great graduation gift for her, something special. He was so proud of her. He had been thinking of telling her how he felt about her but decided her graduation wasn’t the best timing as he didn’t want to take anything away from her, this was Felicity’s day and he would do everything he could to make it special for her. He grabbed his jacket and headed to his car, he hated shopping but for her it would be worth it.

Oliver walked into Tech Village and immediately felt out of his element, the women behind the counter looked up as the bell rang when Oliver opened the door. Her mood shifted from bored to immediately interested and pulling her t-shirt down to make it tighter she walked over to Oliver and asked him (suggestively) if there was anything she could help him with. Oliver was used to women throwing themselves at him but he wasn’t here for that, he was here to get a gift for Felicity and after some questions from him and some obviously flirting from the sales assistant (that he, Oliver, tried his best not to encourage) he had managed to arrange to get the latest laptop (one that wasn’t due out for another month). He knew Felicity would say it was too much but would seriously love it.

All of the Queens, along with Donna Smoak, watched proudly as Felicity received her degree in cyber security and computer science. Felicity ran from the side of the stage to where everyone was waiting for her. Donna pulled her into a hug babbling that she couldn’t believe that her baby girl had graduated and that she was growing up so fast. When she was finally released from her mother’s hug she was immediately pulled into another one, she relaxed when she felt Oliver’s strong arms wrapped around her. ‘Congratulations,’ he whispered to her, ‘I am so proud of you,’ he said before placing a soft kiss on her forehead. ‘Thank you,’ she whispered emotion breaking through her voice.

They held each other for longer than what friends normally would until Oliver felt a tugging on his jacket and they both looked down to see Thea looking at them. ‘Come on Ollie, I want to hug her.’ Suddenly they both became very self-conscious and pulled apart. Thea barrelled into Felicity hugging her so tightly she was sure she would crack a rib. ‘You looked so beautiful up there Lis,’ Thea said before finally letting go. ‘Thanks Thea,’ she said smiling at the twelve year old. Robert and Moira took their turns congratulating Felicity before Donna suggested that they all head to the restaurant for the celebration dinner. Oliver had left the laptop at his hotel; he planned on giving it to her later. As they all walked to their cars, Oliver walked next to Felicity. ‘I have a gift for you, but it’s at the hotel but I promise I will get it for you after dinner,’ he said with a shy smile. ‘Oliver you didn’t need to get me anything,’ she said just as he knew she would. ‘I know but I wanted to,’ he replied and she knew better than to argue with him so she thanked him and squeezed his hand quickly before they reached the cars.

The restaurant was busy full of other graduates celebrating with their families. The Smoak’s and The Queen’s occupied a table near the back of the room. As they ate they chatted and laughed all sharing stories. Oliver had chosen a seat next to Felicity, she seemed like she was having a good time but Oliver knew her better than he knew himself and he could tell under the charade she was sad. He knew it had to do with Cooper and the fact that a part of her still blamed herself for Cooper killing himself. Taking her hand under the table he squeezed it. He rubbed his thumb gently over the back of her hand and she gave him a small smile of thanks.

Donna stood and tapped her glass. ‘I just wanted to say a few words, my baby girl is now a M.I.T graduate and I couldn’t be more proud, it’s not been easy for us over the years but my Felicity has proved time and time again that she is the strongest person I know and that no matter what she chooses to do now she will do amazingly.’ she said with proud happy tears in her eyes. She held her glass up in the air, ‘To Felicity,’ she said and everyone stood to join her in the toast, ‘To Felicity.’

Oliver smiled at her and had a flash of their families standing around toasting for a different reason and Oliver kissing the ring that would shine on Felicity’s finger. He quickly shook the image away before anyone noticed the look on his face and tapped her glass with his own. Donna gave Felicity her gift, a pair of shoes that Felicity had seen and loved in a store window the last time she had visited her mother in Vegas, she hugged Donna and thanked her as she knew the extra hours her mother would have worked to be able to afford them. The Queen’s had given her a gift certificate so she could buy anything she wanted and she knew better than to argue that it was too much.  
After the meal everyone had said goodnight, the Queen’s (minus Oliver) and Donna had headed back to their hotels and had all agreed to meet for breakfast the following morning. Oliver and Felicity had decided to take a walk before heading to go get Felicity’s graduation gift. The night was warm and dry. They chatted about everything and nothing, although they called and skyped regularly they both missed being able to spend time together. Felicity turned her head to find Oliver smiling at her and had to fight back the urge to kiss him. There had always been a special bond between them and as they got older it had only grown stronger.

They headed back to the hotel and they made their way to Oliver’s suite. Once inside he showed Felicity to the sofa and made his way to the bedroom to get her gift. He carried the box out and placed it on the coffee table in front of her. ‘Happy Graduation Felicity,’ he said, kissing her softly on the cheek and they both tried to ignore the spark that shot through them both.  
With trembling fingers she carefully unwrapped the gift taking care to remove the ribbon and the paper without tearing it. As she peeled away the wrapping she gasped as she looked at the box and the new state of the art laptop inside. ‘Oliver how, it’s not supposed to be out for another month oh it’s too much I can’t,’ she said looking at him. He took both her hands in his, ‘Yes you can, please for me,’ and with those words she knew she would accept the gift, she nodded and he pulled her in for a hug.

When they separated she looked at him excitedly before opening the box and taking out the laptop. Oliver watched and smiled as she babbled happily about the computer and what it could do, he didn’t really understand any of it but it didn’t matter as watching her made him feel like watching her talk about the stars, he would do anything and give anything to see her smile like that. She was his world and he was deeply in love with her and he knew he would never feel this way about anyone else. And at that moment he decided that before he left Boston he would tell her how he felt.

The following morning Donna and the Queen family minus Oliver said their good byes, Donna had to get back to Vegas for work and Robert had a meeting that could not be missed so with hugs and promises from Felicity to visit everyone soon they left leaving Oliver and Felicity alone. Oliver was nervous, he was with his best friend and he had plenty experience asking out girls, but this wasn’t just any girl this was Felicity, his Felicity, and Oliver thought that this was the scariest thing he had ever done.

The two of them took a walk through the park holding on to coffee and donuts enjoying the view, Oliver nervously tapping his fingers against the slightly too hot coffee cup. He spotted a vacant bench and motioned to Felicity, silently asking her if she wanted to sit for a while. They sat side by side watching people walk by. Oliver took a deep breath, it was now or never’ ‘Oliver’ she said before he had a chance to speak ‘thank you, you are my best friend, I don’t know what I would do without you’ she smiled at him before looking away and taking a sip of coffee. Oliver smiled at her, it didn’t reach his eyes but she had looked away so didn’t notice, his heart sank, she would only ever see him as a friend, if he told her how she was his everything and how much he loved her it would ruin everything, so with his heart in pieces he decided that he would keep his feelings to himself and that she could never know, he took her hand, squeezing gently ‘you’re welcome Felicity, you’ll always be my best friend’ he said. They sat quietly both in their own little worlds.

Felicity looked down at her coffee and mentally kicked herself, why did she stop, why couldn’t she tell him how she really felt, how he was who she wanted and not just as a friend, she decided to tell him when he had said she would always be his best friend and she knew then her feelings for him, how she could picture a life with him would be something she would have to live with, they would be those quiet dreams she kept to herself.

They said their goodbyes a few hours later, both promising to talk the day after. And as Oliver got into the car to take him to the airport he knew not only was he leaving his best friend in Boston but also his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter edited to remove a paragraph that had double posted


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> possible spoilers
> 
> no copyright infringement intended

Felicity was getting annoyed, she had a Master’s degree yet here she was struggling to find a job that was even remotely connected to what she loved to do. Of course she had applied for internships at numerous companies but so far she had had only one response and that was from a creepy guy who wanted her to be his personal assistant however his idea of personal assistant was completely different to hers and she had needed three showers just to get rid of the icky feeling she had had since she got the email offering her a ‘position’. She had deleted the email but not before sending him a virus that made his PC make bird noises every time he typed certain words. She was running out of money and she was missing Oliver.

Oliver lay on his bed flicking through the pages of a sports magazine when there was a knock on the door, ‘Come in speedy,’ he called thinking it was his sister (she had recently got into a habit of knocking after walking in on him changing more than once). Oliver was surprised when his dad walked into his room. He quickly sat up wondering what his father could want him for. ‘Oliver has Felicity found a job yet?’ he asked. He looked at his dad curiously. ‘No not yet, it seems a tough time at the moment, so many people going for so few available places, although she is clearly the best of them all so I really don’t know how someone hasn’t snapped her up yet,’ he said.  
Robert smiled. ‘I wanted to ask your opinion about something, the board at QC have decided to expand the internship program to include the IT department and I was wondering if you thought Felicity might be interested in it, she would have to start at the same place as the other interns but she would get a basic salary and she would get a chance work her way up, do you think she would be interested, she would be a great asset to the company?’ he questioned.  
Oliver smiled at his dad. ‘Yeah I think she would be, well after we convince her she is being offered the chance for the sake of her skills and not as a favour.’ ‘Excellent’ Robert replied ‘when you call her tonight I would like to talk to her about it.’ Oliver nodded, ‘Sure dad.’ Robert smiled at his son, said his goodbyes and left the room. Once he was out of the room he smiled, those kids belonged together and once they were in the same city then maybe they would have a better chance of realising it.

Felicity smiled when she saw Oliver’s picture flash up on her phone screen, grabbing the phone and she took a deep breath before answering. ‘Hey,’ she said happily. ‘Hey,’ he replied, ‘so my dad wanted to talk to you about something.’ ‘Umm ok sure,’ she said curiously.  
Oliver told her he was making his way to his dads study. He knocked on the door and entered when his dad said to and he handed the phone to his dad after telling him it was Felicity. Robert pointed to a chair and Oliver took a seat.

‘Felicity dear how are you?’ he asked kindly. ‘I’m fine Mr Queen, how are you?’ she said. ‘I’m very well thank you and please dear call me Robert,’ he replied. ‘Felicity I wanted to talk to you, the board at QC have decided to expand our internship program to include the IT department on the condition that we only get the very best and I would like to offer you a place if you’re interested, the job includes a starting salary with the option of bonuses and as a company we like to promote from within so there is always a chance of working your way up, we would really love it if you would join us at QC. I believe you would be a great asset to the company and between you and me I think you could teach the IT department a few new tricks,’ he said with a chuckle. 

Felicity thought for a moment, wondering if Oliver’s dad offered her the job because she was Oliver’s best friend before realising she was being crazy and that this could be an amazing opportunity. ‘Mr Qu… umm I mean Robert, I would love to. Thank you so much,’ she said, the smile in her voice evident over the phone.  
‘Excellent,’ Robert replied, smiling at Oliver, ‘of course you are welcome to stay here with us, even if it is until you get settled but please don’t think you have to rush finding somewhere, you are welcome here for as long as you like,’ he told her noting the huge smile on his son’s face. ‘Thank you,’ she said grinning, ‘that would be wonderful.’ ‘Great, so I will arrange transport for you here, we are doing that for all the interns chosen and once here we can discuss details in a few days if that is ok?’ Robert said while making notes on the A4 writing pad on his desk. ‘That would be great,’ Felicity enthused.

‘Well now that is all sorted I will let you get back to chatting with my son, have a good evening Felicity and welcome to QC,’ Robert said and after Felicity had said thanks again and they had said goodbye, Robert passed the phone over to Oliver and smiled as Oliver silently thanked his dad before leaving the study and making his way back to his room.  
Oliver lay down on his bed, while Felicity babbled excitedly over the phone; she was so happy and couldn’t wait to start her new job. He was equally excited for her about the job but also happy that not only would they be finally living in the same city but also the same house and they would get to see each other every day.  
They talked for hours about the plans for the move and Oliver insisted on meeting her at the airport. They finally said goodnight when Felicity began to yawn over the phone and Oliver told her to head to bed as she had some busy days ahead of her.

He got ready for bed and lay in the dark when it hit him that he would be seeing her every day and he would have to try and hide his feelings for her so he didn’t mess up their friendship. He groaned and pulled the pillow out from underneath his head covered his face with it. This was going to be the hardest thing he had ever done.  
Felicity couldn’t believe what had just happened; in less than twenty four hours she had gone from thinking that she would never find a job in the area she had worked so hard to get a degree in, to now not only having an internship that included bonuses at one of the biggest companies on the west coast but she would be moving to Starling City and living with the Queens……with Oliver. ‘Frack,’ she said, that was one thing she hadn’t considered when she had accepted Robert’s offer of staying with them.  
As much as she missed seeing Oliver and although they talked every day, that was completely different than living in the same house and seeing each other every day. How was she supposed to live in a house (well it wasn’t really a house more like a mansion) with the man she was madly in love with and not go crazy.  
She made her way over to the mini freezer in her room and pulled out a pint of Mint chip and grabbing a spoon she sat on the bed next to her laptop and while eating the ice cream as she googled Starling City.

The tiredness she had been feeling just a few minutes had gone and she was wide awake. The excitement from earlier now replaced with nervousness about living with her best friend who she was in love with. ‘Well Felicity,’ she said out loud to herself, ‘you're in this now,’ and switching to card games on her computer she tried to take her mind off it all and failed miserably.  
She was in so much trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited due to unedited version being added by mistake


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> possible spoilers
> 
> no copyright infringement intended

Felicity dragged her case as she crossed the arrivals lounge, she had arranged to get some of her things sent on but she had had to bring quite a bit with her. She looked up and had to smile as she saw Oliver standing there with a sign with her name on it, next to him Thea was jumping up and down trying to see if she could spot Felicity in the crowd. She waved at them and Oliver grabbed Thea’s hand and they made their way over to where she was, Thea immediately leaping forward to give Felicity a big hug. ‘Lis,’ she said before letting go, ‘I am so happy you are coming to live with us, ooh we should go shopping and to the movies and have girls night.’ Felicity smiled, ‘Sounds great Thea,’ she said and she meant it. She had always wanted a sister and that is how she saw the youngest Queen.

Oliver stepped forward and pulled her into a tight hug, they stayed this way for a few moments before pulling back. ‘I missed you,’ he said honestly and she couldn’t help but smile. ‘Missed you too,’ she said. Oliver insisted on grabbing her suitcase and bags and Thea took her hand and together they made their way out of the airport and to the waiting town car. ‘We’ll be at our first stop in just a minute Mr Queen,’ the driver said after they had been in the car for around 15 minutes. ‘Thank you Frank,’ Oliver said. Felicity looked at him. ‘We’re not headed straight back to your house?’ she asked curiously. ‘Our house,’ he said grinning, 'not quite yet, I figured you would be hungry.’ 

The car came to a stop and Felicity looked out of the car window at the sign on the building they were now parked outside. ‘Big Belly Burger,’ Felicity said reading the name.’Yeah,’ Oliver said, 'they have the best burgers in the city.‘ Felicity laughed and started to babble. ‘I love you, you always know just what I like, this is going to be so good,’ she said smiling and as she got out of the car she leaned back in to look at Oliver. ‘You are coming aren’t you,’ she said and he just nodded and stepped out of the car before helping Thea and together they all walked into the restaurant.

‘I love you, you always know just what I like, this is going to be so good’ Felicity said and for a moment Oliver was sure he forgot how to breathe. It took him a minute to clear his head, he knew she didn’t mean love him as in love with him but even so hearing her say those words Oliver knew he wanted to hear her say them for the rest of his life.  
The three of them sat in a booth in the corner of the restaurant waiting for their food. They had all ordered the BIG Belly Buster with extra fries and chocolate milk shakes (Thea insisting she could eat so much food and Oliver agreeing with her, his sister may have only been small but she could certainly eat). They all chatted about everything and nothing and Felicity insisted on ordering food for the driver and Oliver knew that he could never say no to her. Oh he was in trouble.

Felicity looked around her room at the Queen manor, the en suite bathroom alone was bigger than her dorm room at M.I.T. She doubted she would ever get used to the kind of lifestyle the Queens had. She started to unpack her things, carefully hanging up her shirts and skirts that she would be wearing for work and adding a few touches to make the room feel more homely and less like she was in a hotel. A knock on the door came a few minutes later and she opened it to find Moira Queen standing there. ‘Felicity dear, I’m so sorry Robert and I were not here to great you when you arrived, I had a lunch that I had to attend and Robert is still at the office although he has promised he would be home for dinner, Raisa is making something special for your first night here.’ ‘It’s not a problem Mrs Queen and please don’t go to any trouble for me,’ Felicity replied. ‘Please call me Moira and it’s no trouble dear, we all think of you as one of the family,’ and with that Moira turned and left leaving Felicity feeling completely overwhelmed and a little sad as it hit her that that is how Oliver saw her, as family, probably like a sister, and with that Felicity stopped her unpacking and lay on the bed closing her eyes and cried silently at what could never be.

Felicity could hear a knocking coming from somewhere, she looked at the desk in front of her in a panic, laptops, lots of laptops on the desk in from of her, all needing urgent attention and they flashed with lines of code on the screen and made beeping sounds and she looked around as more laptops appeared and she felt as if she were drowning. ‘Felicity,’ she could hear a voice calling her name, a voice she recognised but is seemed so far away. ‘Oliver,’ she called out and as the number of computers in front of her multiplied the voice got louder and she turned as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She sat up straight, not knowing for a moment where she was. ‘Hey, you’re okay,’ Oliver said trying to steady her, ‘sorry, I knocked and when there wasn’t any answer I came in to see if you were okay and you were sleeping and having a nightmare by the sounds of it, what where you dreaming about?’ he asked still rubbing her shoulder’ ‘Computers,’ she replied ‘there were so many and I couldn’t fix them,’ she said looking down embarrassed.

Oliver looked at her with a smile. ‘You’d have done, I know you would have. I came to tell you dinner is in an hour, if you wanted to get freshened up and join me for a pre dinner drink downstairs he said, ‘Oh I’m so sorry I must have fallen asleep, the bed is really comfy and I only closed my eyes for a minute,’ she replied as she began to babble. ‘Felicity, Fel-ici-ty, it’s fine really don’t worry about it, I’ll meet you down stairs,’ he said and left. She lay back on the bed and groaned at the thought of what her hair looked like and then she hoped next time Oliver woke her that it wasn’t as bad before telling herself Oliver wouldn’t be waking her up and that it wouldn’t happen again, and then took a deep breath thankful that it was a nightmare she was having and not one of those other kind of dreams about Oliver that she had been having a lot lately. 

The Queens where in the lounge room having pre dinner drinks. Robert and Oliver both sipping on scotch, Moira was relaxing with a gin and tonic and Thea with fruit juice after attempting (and failing) to convince her parents to let her have something with alcohol in it. Oliver’s phone buzzed in his pocket, he took it out and looked at it chuckling as he quickly replied, his parents looked at him. ‘Felicity needs my help, I’ll be right back.’ He stood and made his way out of the room and up the stairs to the wing where her room was, he took another look at the text and chuckled again at the words. ‘Oliver, I’m in my room and have no idea where your lounge room is HELP!!!!!!!!!!!’ knocking on her door he waited for her to answer, she opened the door with a relieved expression. ‘I swear this place should come with its own map,’ she said as he chuckled. ‘Your tour guide is here my lady,’ and bowed to her holding his hand out, she playfully swatted him on the shoulder and then followed him to where his family were waiting. 

They entered the lounge room and Robert walked over to them. ‘Felicity, can I get you something to drink?’ he asked passing Oliver his scotch. ‘Umm some juice would be nice,’ she said still feeling a bit out of place. ‘Of course dear but you are welcome to have something a bit stronger,’ Moira said while placing another slice of lemon in her glass. ‘Thanks but juice is fine,’ Felicity replied. Moira smiled at her and poured a glass of orange juice for her and they all took a seat. The Queens asked Felicity about her trip, they all talked about the intern ship and she found out a lot. By the time they were called into the dining room Felicity was excited about the job and her future. She was very thankful to the Queens and she realised that this family had been looking out for her since the day the bullies pushed her down and she hurt her knee and Oliver had come to her aid.

After dinner (and a glass of wine she couldn’t turn down, even Thea had had a small one) Felicity joined Oliver in the games room where they laughed and joked over a game of pool. Whenever they were together everything seemed so natural and so easy.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> possible spoilers
> 
> no copyright infringement intended
> 
> a slightly shorter chapter but the next one will be longer xx

The weekend had passed and Monday morning was here and Felicity stood in front of the mirror nervously playing with the collar on her shirt. This was it, her first day at Queen Consolidated and as nervous as she was, she was equally excited.

 

She couldn’t eat much breakfast only picking at her food. Oliver took hold of her hand squeezing it gently and telling her she would do amazingly.

 

Arriving at QC she quickly got her security passes and was given directions to the IT department where she met her new boss, a man who seemed stuck in the dark ages and believed that there was no way women could know more than men. Felicity realised in the first hour that she had forgotten more about computers than this guy knew. She followed instructions that she was given even though she knew ten different ways to get the results they needed only faster but she didn’t want to rock the boat on her first day. 

 

The morning went quite quickly and before she knew it lunchtime had arrived. A smell hit her, a glorious mouth-watering smell and she looked up to see Oliver standing there with a smile on his face and a bag from Big Belly Burger in his hand.

‘Figured you would be hungry since you didn’t really eat breakfast this morning so I brought lunch, mind if I join you,’ he said after placing the bag down on an empty corner of the desk and pulling a chair that was against the wall in the cubical that Felicity had been given to work in. ‘You are a life saver and of course you can join me, you brought food,’ she said laughing. 

 

They talked about how her day had been and she glossed over the fact that her boss was an idiot as they ate (felicity playfully smacking Oliver’s hand away as he tried to steal one of her fries) and they discussed their plans for the evening. There was a new sci-fi film that she had wanted to see so after some persuading Oliver had agreed to go with her. Before long, lunch was over and Oliver left her to work. He decided to say hello to his father and so he made his way to the eighteenth floor where the CEO office was.

 

Oliver said hello to his father’s EA as the door to his father’s office opened and Malcolm Merlyn walked out, he nodded to Oliver and left. Oliver looked at his father; Robert had a strange look on his face. Oliver didn’t like Malcolm Merlyn, even though his son Tommy was one of Oliver’s best friends he couldn’t help but get a bad feeling whenever Malcolm was in the room. 

‘Oliver what a pleasant surprise, what brings you here?’ Robert asked. ‘I took some lunch to Felicity and I wanted to come up and say hi before I left,’ Oliver said. Robert smiled. ‘Well it is very nice to see you, actually I wanted to talk to you, some business has come up and I need to go to China soon with Joseph Longdale, we have decide to take the Queen’s Gambit, make a trip out of it, Joseph is bringing his sons Michael and Lucas and I believe Lucas is bringing his girlfriend, I believe you know her Sara Lance, it will be for two weeks, I thought it may give us a chance to spend some father/son time,’ he said hopefully. ‘I’d like that dad,’ Oliver said, as much as he didn’t want to leave Felicity especially so soon after her moving to Starling but he wanted to spend some time with his father, they had hardly seen each other over the past couple of months and this was a chance to catch up.

 

Later that night as they drove home from the cinema Oliver told Felicity all about the conversation with his dad and about the trip to China. Felicity told him it sounded a wonderful chance to spend some quality time with his dad and as much as she would miss him that he should go and she’d look out for Thea.

 

‘Oliver are you sure you have enough clothes, I mean you are going away for two weeks?’ Felicity asked as she looked at the small duffel bag Oliver insisted on taking with him. ‘Just so you know, I am planning on eating extra BIG Belly Burger while you are gone, you know for you,’ she said grinning. ‘You are cruel,’ he said laughing and began to tickle her.

They both fell on the bed with Felicity trying to get away but couldn’t because she was laughing so much. She tried to move to tickle him back but rolled and before Oliver could stop it he had rolled on top of her, they both stopped laughing, suddenly serious, looking into each other‘s eyes. Oliver moved closer, his lips just above hers, he felt it was now or never, so Oliver Queen did what he had wanted to do since he was a child and he kissed Felicity Smoak. 

 

 




	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> possible spoilers
> 
> no copyright infringement intended
> 
>  
> 
> Sorry for the delay in posting, I have been away 
> 
> here is a longer chapter than usual...enjoy

Felicity had experienced good kisses before, this was not a good kiss, this was the greatest kiss she had ever known, and it was Oliver. He pulled back to look at her, a question of was this okay in his eyes. She nodded and ran her hands through his hair pulling him back to her and kissing him like she had always wanted to.

They spent the rest of the evening wrapped up in each other’s arms, holding each other, sharing kisses, and talking. ‘I know we are best friends Felicity and I don’t want to lose that but I have to tell you I’m crazy about you and I think we could be great, so what do you say, do you want to give us a chance?’ Oliver said terrified of her rejecting him. ‘I think we could be great too Oliver, I really want to give us a chance because I’m crazy about you too,’ she said and pulled him in for another kiss.

Oliver looked at the clock and groaned, as much as he wanted to continue this all night (they had decided not to rush anything), he knew that Felicity had to be up for work so eventually they said their goodnights. 

Oliver fell asleep with a smile on his face, he had wanted to tell her how he felt for so long and now not only hadn’t she rejected him, she actually felt the same way. He felt like a school boy again. He would show her how much he loved her every chance he got. 

Felicity couldn’t stop hugging her pillow, it smelled of Oliver. She couldn’t believe what had happened, she’d had dreamt about this happening of course but she always woke feeling empty. Now though, not only had Oliver kissed her but he told her was crazy about her and that he wanted them to be together. She would be the best girlfriend, she had wanted to be with him for so long and now she had a chance. She was going to miss him so much when he went to China but she knew how important this trip was to both Oliver and his father.

The following morning Felicity had just finished putting make up on when a knock on the door made her stop and smile, she knew his knock anywhere. ‘Come in Oliver,’ she said turning to the door. He opened the door and walked into the room. ‘Morning beautiful,’ he said as he walked over and kissed her gently. ‘Morning,’ she said before kissing him again. The kiss started off gently and quickly built. Felicity pulled herself against him. Oliver’s arm tightened around her his hand pushing under her shirt. Her hand travelled to his hair as she deepened the kiss.

She could feel him hardening against her, she moaned and the sound made him want her more. ‘Ollie,’ Thea called from somewhere down the hall and they reluctantly pulled apart. ‘Probably for the best,’ he said, ‘when we do this I want it to be right and not rushed, I want it to be perfect for you, for us,’ he whispered before placing a soft kiss on her lips and leaving to go find Thea. Oh yeah she had no chance, she was done for and she loved it.

The next week seemed to fly. Oliver and Felicity spent every minute they could together. His parents had looked at each other and then to the two of them smiling they had said it was about time and that they were happy for the young couple.

The night before the Queen’s Gambit was due to sail, Oliver and Felicity lay in each other’s arms. They both hated that they would be apart from each other but they knew how important this trip was for Oliver and his father. ‘Felicity, I…I love you,’ he said. Her smile lit up the room and she kissed him. She pulled back and looked at him. ‘I love you too,’ she said and Oliver thought those where the greatest words he had ever known.

The Queen’s and Felicity sat around the table chatting. Raisa brought out huge plates of pancakes, jugs of syrup, plates of crispy bacon and sausages, three types of eggs and stacks of toast. Raisa had insisted that everyone had a proper breakfast before leaving for the docks. They all ate and chatted, Oliver squeezing Felicity’s hand every couple of minutes.

The limo was packed and as Oliver walked over to open the door for Felicity, Robert shouted to him before throwing him a set of keys. ‘Why don’t you and Felicity meet us there,’ he suggested before telling Thea to get in the car. 

The drive to the docks was quicker than either of them wanted. It was only two weeks but it would feel like a lifetime to them both. Oliver pulled into a space in the carpark at the docks, he turned off the engine before pulling her to him and kissing her. She was his soul mate and he couldn’t wait until he could return to her. They walked hand in hand to the docks where the rest of the Queen family, as well as the rest of the people who would be joining them on the business trip were waiting.

‘Hey Ollie,’ Sara said as she walked over to them. ‘Hey Sara,’ he said. ‘Sara this is my girlfriend Felicity Smoak, Felicity this is Sara Lance, Laurel’s sister.’ ‘It’s nice to meet you,’ Felicity said smiling. ‘Hi,’ Sara said then, ‘wait, Felicity as in Las Vegas Felicity? So Ollie you finally manned up and told her how you felt then?’ she said laughing. Oliver looked at her. ‘Oh please we’ve all known you’ve been crazy about her since you guys were kids,’ she said. ‘Was it that obvious?’ he asked, looking sheepish. ‘Well yeah, I mean you never stopped talking about her and when you were talking about her you would light up,’ Sara commented. Just then she was called away when her boyfriend, Lucas Longdale, arrived with his father. ‘Soooo,’ Oliver said and Felicity just smiled and kissed him.

‘Felicity, I know we haven’t been together that long but we have been a part of each other’s lives for years and well, how do you feel about us finding a place together, the manor is great and all but it’s difficult to find time without anyone bothering us and I really think given the chance to just be us, we could be something amazing,’ he said before holding his breath. She smiled and kissed him before nodding. ‘Yes, I think that is a great idea.’ 

Robert shouted that it was time to go and Oliver pulled her close and kissed her again before they walked over to where the Queen Gambit was docked. They all said their goodbyes and plans were made for a party for when they returned.

Felicity blinked back the tears trying not to let Oliver see. Moira, Thea and Felicity watched as the boat sailed away and Moira placed her arm around Felicity. ‘Don’t worry dear, they’ll be back before you know it so let’s head back to the manor, put on our pj’s, get lots of junk food and watch movies. If the boys can go have fun then we can too,’ she said and Felicity had never felt more thankful to call the Queen’s family. ‘Yay a slumber party,’ Thea said skipping quickly to the waiting limo. Moira laughed, ‘And that’s before any sugar.’ Felicity giggled. 

Oliver sat on his bed in the cabin, everyone else had decided on drinks in the main room on the Gambit but Oliver wasn’t in the mood to mix. He took out his phone again to look at Felicity’s photo again, he missed her so much. Since she moved to Starling, Oliver had seen her every day and now that they wouldn’t see each other for two weeks, he felt like it would be the longest two weeks of his life.

Felicity picked up another slice of pineapple pizza and added it to her plate with a handful of fries with ketchup and a double chocolate milkshake on the table next her. She sat on a beanbag chair that Thea had a collection of and settled down for the next film to start. Moira and Thea had never seen Labyrinth before and it was one of Felicity’s favourite films so she was happy to watch it again. It was times like this that she missed her mum, no matter how busy Donna was she always found time to have movie night one night a week.

Robert had asked Oliver to come out of the cabin for a while, he didn’t want Oliver to make himself miserable and he thought being with a few people of similar age may just take his mind off missing Felicity. Oliver agreed but only lasted an hour before he decided to go back to his cabin. He felt like he had left half of himself back in Starling.

By the time the third movie had finished all three of them were asleep on their bean bag chairs, empty pizza and takeaway boxes sat on the table along with various chocolate wrappers, a bowl with a few pieces of popcorn and an empty tub of mint chip. Felicity’s phone was still in her hand, a picture of her and Oliver laughing and hugging as her screensaver. 

The next few days flew past, Felicity busying herself at work and trying and failing not to miss Oliver too much. She counted down the days till the Gambit would be back and her and Oliver could start looking for their own place.

Oliver sat in on some of the meetings that his father decided to have in preparation for the business they would be doing in China, surprising himself, he found he actually enjoyed the meetings and at one point could see himself running the company along with Felicity during the day and coming home to their home and family. He could see at least three children in their future. Wow he thought to himself, kids, that is something he never thought about wanting before but with Felicity he could see having a family and it felt like the most natural thing in the world. He knew that she could rule the world and be the best wife and mother, his Felicity could do it all. He planned to visit the family vault and pick out the perfect ring when the time was right.

They were only a day away from reaching their destination and Oliver had been watching the weather channel on the small TV. Warnings of a storm in the South China Sea, the same place they were, concerned him and he had asked one of the crew who told him not to worry and that they were perfectly safe, but Oliver wasn’t convinced. He looked at his phone again and looked at Felicity’s photo, trying to ignore the sound of the wind and rain that was steadily getting heavier outside. He fell into a fitful sleep.

A huge bang woke Oliver and the boat rocked angrily, the lights went out and another loud bang sounded before the floor below him began to crack, water rising from it. Oliver was violently tossed around the cabin before the floor split open completely and Oliver found himself being dragged down and his last thought before he was pulled into the ice cold water of the South China Sea was that he would never see his Felicity again.

Felicity felt like swearing, she had only been at work for an hour and already it was turning into the day from hell. So far she had had to remove viruses from four computers due to their users visiting sites they had no business visiting during work hours, as well as that she had had to fix an update that her supervisor had screwed up. It was going to be a long day and she hadn’t even had her at work coffee yet. 

She began the second round of updates and let her mind wonder for a minute, she thought about what kind of place she and Oliver would look at, would it be a house or an apartment, would it be a one bedroom or a two, if it was a two bedroom would they turn the second bedroom into an office or maybe a guest room for if her mum ever visited, or maybe at some point in the future, it could become a nursery. She pictured a little boy with dark blonde hair and blue eyes running and playing with toys, a little girl with dark hair and blue eyes playing games on a tablet. She saw a family, she saw a possible future and she wanted it. Her computer beeped to let her know that the updates had finished so she could start the next ones. She looked through her draw and took out one of the serial bars she kept for emergencies, she needed sugar if she was going to get through this morning.

Another two lots of updates and she could finally go get a cup of coffee, the coffee was pretty bad but at this point she didn’t care, she just needed the caffeine. She missed Oliver, she hoped he was having fun and enjoying spending quality time with his father. She smiled to herself, she decided that once Oliver was home they would take their relationship to the next level, she wanted him, needed him. She felt she had waited her whole life for Oliver Queen and now he was hers she would show him how much she loved him. She looked at her watch, she had to head back to her desk now, dreading to think how many more issues she would have to fix due to people simply not paying attention to what they were doing or worse, knowing exactly what they were doing but it was something they shouldn’t be. 

Felicity got to her desk and mentally prepared herself to go through the files on her desk to see what needed to be done. Hearing her name she looked up to see Moira standing there and her stomach dropped as she took in the look of shock and loss on Moira’s face. The words Moira spoke seemed jumbled to Felicity and the last thing she heard before darkness overtook her were the words, “Queen’s Gambit” and “lost at sea.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> possible spoilers
> 
> no copyright infringement intended
> 
>  
> 
> A slightly longer chapter than usual as there will be a couple of weeks before I can update again as I am away for the next 2 weekends and wont get a chance to update during the week, so sorry

FIVE YEARS LATER

Felicity hurried along the corridor trying not to spill her coffee, if she wasn’t quick she would miss the meeting and she could not miss the meeting, she was the head of the IT department and if she didn’t want to lose funding from her department; she may be thought of as family by the Queen’s but that didn’t mean that the board of directors gave in easily.

The meeting seemed endless; she felt like hitting her head against a wall at times, she was convinced that 90% of the board just didn’t want to understand, not that they couldn’t. She needed more coffee but decided to wait till she could get the good stuff not the sludge they had in the break room. Her phone rang, she looked at the number and seeing Moira’s number, she answered thinking that Moira was probably calling to confirm that Felicity would be at the family dinner tonight however the words Moira spoke made Felicity stop dead, she took a deep breath and asked Moira to repeat it. ‘Oliver’s alive. Felicity, my boy’s alive.’ Felicity sat down and cried the man she loved, the man she had never stopped loving, was alive.

Felicity paced outside the hospital room. She felt as if she was watching someone one else, ever since she had heard that Oliver was alive her whole world was spinning in a different direction. There had never been anyone else for her, she had been asked out of course many times but she had always said no, making excuses, for her there would be no one but Oliver and even after five years, she loved him as much as the day he had gone on the Gambit. The hospital door opened and Moira walked out, she gave Felicity a small smile and Felicity knew then that the Oliver in that room was not the Oliver she lost. Moira explained that was different and that Felicity should prepare herself before she saw him, she took a deep breath before knocking on the door.

Oliver looked out of the hospital room window; the rain was hitting the glass. He was home but it wasn’t his home, the Oliver Queen who boarded the Queen’s Gambit was not the man who stood there today.

A knock on the door pulled him out of his thoughts, he closed his eyes for a moment, he knew who it was, he had missed her so much, her picture and the thought of her had kept him going on Lian yu, the island he washed up on, the name meaning purgatory and that is what he had felt he had been in. He had dreamed of seeing her again, of holding her, of telling her how much he loved her but he thought that dreams were all they would ever be, another quiet knock made him open his eyes and before he even knew what he was doing he had shouted for her to come in.

Felicity slowly opened the door, as much as she wanted to see him she worried that it all might be too much for him however, the second her eyes met his, it felt like she had taken a breath for the first time since he got on that damn boat five years ago.

Oliver slowly walked over to her, he knew that she was letting him come to her so not to spook him, he wanted to pull her close and hold her but something was stopping him and he knew that it was something inside him, something dark, she was so innocent and so good that he felt like he would taint her.

‘Oliver,’ her voice broke him out of the mist his thoughts had created in his head, he looked at her before dropping to his knees, his head down as he fought to keep at bay the tears that were threatening to spill, he felt more than heard her and as he looked up to find her on her knees too, so that they were on the same level, her own eyes glassy with tears, as one escaped he slowly moved his hand to caress her face and brushed the tear away before pulling her into his arms, they held each other and both let their tears fall freely.

They held each other and cried until their position on the floor started to get uncomfortable, never loosing contact they made their way to the hospital bed. Oliver pulled back slightly to look at her. ‘I thought about you every day while I was away, you were the only thing that got me through, I love you Felicity,’ he said pausing slightly. ‘But you need time and some space to adjust to being back,’ she finished his sentence for him, ‘I understand Oliver, just know that I’m here for you when you need me and I’ll do everything I can to make it as easy as possible for you to settle in to life back here in Starling, and I love you and I will support you in any way I can. I’m not crazy, I know things will be different than before but I’m here whenever you are ready no matter how long it takes if that’s what you need, you’re going to be a different person to who you were when you were away, so am I, maybe we can start slowly by getting to know who these new people are.’

He closed his eyes nodding slightly. ‘You are remarkable Felicity,’ he said, the emotion evident in his voice. She smiled at him knowing he knew she was, even though his eyes were closed. ‘Thank you for remarking on it,’ she said. He took her hand in his and prayed that with time he could be the man she deserved.

The first few nights home were worse than he could ever have imagined, the nightmare became worse, always the same, he was back on the island he wasn’t just fighting to survive he was fighting to save Felicity. After almost strangling his own mother when she tried to wake him from a nightmare, he decided that he needed space from the Queen manor, his mother however, had other plans.

Oliver was heading out when his mother called him into the living room. ‘Oliver dear,’ she said, ‘I’d like you to meet someone, this is John Diggle, he’ll be your driver and bodyguard while you…..readjust to being home.’

This was not what Oliver needed, he needed time alone, and it was only partly because he was having issues about being around other people, well except for Felicity. They had seen each other every day but only for a little while, she had been giving the space she promised, he knew she would be there for him when he was ready. There was something Oliver hadn’t told anyone, not even Felicity, his reasons for returning to Starling after being rescued where not only because of Felicity, or the city he grew up in, but for a purpose.

The Gambit sank into the icy water of the South China Sea. As the small life raft floated nearby, three survivors had made it to the life raft; the rest had been lost to the inky black water. Oliver sat shivering, his father next to him and a member of the crew completed the trio. They were lost in the water, no food and the fresh water they had managed to salvage wouldn’t last long. Oliver looked on in horror as his own father produced a gun from inside his life vest before shooting the third man in the raft. His father quickly explained that the water wouldn’t last and he did what he had to do to ensure that Oliver would survive before handing Oliver a small notebook filled with names. Robert asked Oliver to right his wrongs before turning the gun on himself leaving Oliver distraught, terrified and alone.

Oliver looked at his mother, shaking his head. ‘I don’t need a bodyguard,’ he said before turning and walking out of the door, closely followed by John Diggle. ‘You know this would go a lot easier if you just get in the car,’ Diggle said opening the car door. Oliver turned to see his mother standing there watching him, he knew the only way to get out of this was to play along for now, so he got into the car.

Oliver had Diggle drive him all over Starling running useless errands, he ditched him at the earliest opportunity and made his way to the old Queen Steel factory, the factory had closed a few years previously and now stood empty, and the upper floor of the building would serve as a great cover for what he needed. If he was going to be able to right his father’s wrongs he needed somewhere private to train and make plans but also somewhere he would have a valid excuse to visit on a regular basis so here he was at the steel factory making plans to turn the upper floors into a nightclub and the basement would become his base of operations.

Oliver sat on the couch next to Felicity, he couldn’t help but smile at her, she was trying to explain the plot of some awful TV show they were watching and she was babbling, even after all this time he still thought it was adorable. He wished he could tell her everything, what happened on the island, how his father had given his own life to let Oliver live and how that now Oliver was home how he was trying to do what he could to do as his father he asked. He knew he could never tell her, she was light and the man he had become was darkness and he didn’t want to affect her.

Felicity stood watching the news in the break room, another story of how a corrupt business man had been killed by a hooded man with a bow and arrow. The media had nicknamed this dark figure “The Hood” and likened him to a violent modern day Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and corrupt and giving back to the innocent. She couldn’t shake this feeling in the back of her mind, a thought that flickered like a flame blowing in the wind; she felt a connection to this person which was crazy because although he seemed to be helping innocent people, he did it by killing, and that was the part she couldn’t get her head around.

She had been back in her office for about twenty minutes when there was a knock at the door. She looked up to see Oliver standing there with a laptop in his hand. ‘Oliver,’ she said with a smile that lit up the whole room, ‘this is a nice surprise, are you here to say hello or,’ she trailed off looking at the computer in his hand. ‘Well,’ he said nervously, ‘I was having a few problems with my computer and since you are the best person in the world I thought you could maybe help me with it.’ He handed her the laptop, she looked at it and then at him with a look that said “are you kidding me.” ‘I spilled a latte on it,’ he said. Somewhere he knew she wouldn’t buy this and part of him wished she would figure it out just so he didn’t have to keep lying to her about it all. ‘Really,’ she said in a tone that told him in no way was she buying this crap, ‘cos these look like bullet holes.’ He gave her a boyish smile. ‘My coffee shops in a bad neighbourhood,’ he said and she tilted her head as if to tell him his excuses where getting worse, but this was Oliver her Oliver, and if he was here giving her some lame story it must be for a reason so she decided to trust what her heart was telling her and to help him so she agreed to try and recover as much information from the shot up laptop as she could.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi I just wanted to say sorry for the delay in this chapter, I have injured my back and find using my computer painful so I haven't been able to update for a while
> 
> This isn't a long chapter but the next one should be longer and posted soon hopefully 
> 
> massive thanks again to Brazendale for being my beta
> 
>  
> 
> No Copyright infringement intended 
> 
> Rated E for later chapters

Oliver paced nervously as he waited for a call from Felicity, he was conflicted, on one hand he wanted to keep her as far away from all this as possible but at the same time he knew he couldn’t do it without her. He told himself he would tell her as much as she needed to know and keep her away from the rest to keep her safe. Oliver smiled a sad smile, all the time on the island he had dreamed of Felicity, of seeing her again, of holding her as she fell asleep in his arms. Irony was a bitch, he would probably get the chance but it wouldn’t be the same now, his head was a mess, his arms that longed to hold her were also the arms that had killed and a part of him taunted himself saying he didn’t have the right to feel his soul mate wrapped up in the arms of a killer. 

Felicity was removing yet another virus from a company laptop, honestly didn’t people learn not to open emails from porn sites on QC property she thought to herself, when an alert grabbed her attention. She had been running a program on the damaged laptop that Oliver had brought her. The program had been running for an hour with no results until now. She looked at the screen, what she saw made no sense, why would Oliver have blue prints of the Unidact industries building on his laptop, the building QC had an interest in buying and why did those blue prints have the name Warren Patel on them. She picked up her phone and sent a quick text to Oliver about the laptop before getting back to work on the QC laptop. 

Oliver picked up his coffee cup and put it back down, it was cold by now but he needed to keep his hands busy. He had been down in the foundry in the basement of the old Queen Industrial building, he had been converting it to use as his base. His phone’s text alert rang and he smiled a real smile as he saw Felicity’s picture flash up on his phone. He quickly opened the message smiling again as he heard her voice in his head as he read it. 

'Hey Oliver, the program I had been running on your laptop found something, come by as soon as you can and I’ll show you what I’ve found Love F xx' 

The woman amazed him, she had been through so much in her life but she always found a way to deal with it and help others, Oliver knew that she hadn’t bought the spilled latte excuse but she had helped him anyway. No matter what had happened on the Island, no matter what kind of monster he had told himself he had become, and no matter what happened he was still completely in love with Felicity Smoak and always would be. He sent her a quick text back saying he was on his way and made his way from the old Steel Factory to the car that was now parked outside with John Diggle waiting in the driver’s seat. 

Diggle didn’t trust Oliver, he saw in him a scarred and broken man, he had seen it before with the men he served with in the army, the men that came back different as though they had left a piece of themselves on the battlefield as it was, a part of their spirit had been snuffed out and what they had experienced and gone though had changed them. As much as Oliver played the part of the boy he was before he got on the Gambit, Diggle could see right through the charade and could see that whatever had happed to Oliver the five years he had been away had turned the young carefree billionaire into a man with a dark and broken shadow and Diggle knew he had to keep a watch on Oliver as the unknown something in the back of Diggle’s mind told him that Oliver was not what he appeared to everyone to be. 

Felicity took a drink of the coffee in her T.A.R.D.I.S mug and grimaced, the only thing worse than break room coffee was cold break room coffee and this was what was now tainting her favourite work mug. 

A knock at the door had her looking up and smiling as Oliver stood in the doorway of her cubicle type office with a takeout cup of coffee in his hand. ‘This is for you,’ he said smiling, ‘don’t worry, I got it from a safer coffee shop.’ She rolled her eyes at him before making a “gimme” gesture with her hands. ‘You are a life saver,’ she said taking a long drink.  
Oliver smiled a small smile even though part of him was thinking that if Felicity knew the truth she wouldn’t be saying that. He sat down beside her and looked at the computer screen as Felicity began to explain what she had found. 

Oliver looked at the blue prints; he wondered why Floyd Lawton, a man who was very handy with a gun and an expert shot, would have a laptop with blueprints on it. She asked him about it and it surprised him when she told him that the blueprints had the name Warren Patel on them and that the company in question was being auctioned off and that Warren Patel was one of the interested buyers a long with Walter Steel who wanted to make Unidact Industries part of Queen Consolidated. 

Oliver knew then what was happening, someone wanted that company and was willing to kill to get it, he would bet his inheritance that the other men who had died by the same gunmen had also been planning to bid and that Lawton had been hired by someone very dangerous to take out the competition. He mentally kicked himself for dragging Felicity into this, with her in the dark to what was really going on when she looked at him and said while squeezing his hand, ‘This sounds like something the hood should look into don’t you think?’ and in that moment Oliver knew that he was crazy to think he could fool Felicity and that the hand squeeze was her way of telling him she knew and that she understood and that he was no longer in this alone.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> possible spoilers
> 
> no copyright infringement intended

Oliver paced by the sofa while Felicity went into the kitchen to get two wine glasses and the bottle opener, a bottle of red wine stood on the coffee table. She walked back into the living room and carefully opened the bottle before pouring them both a glass. ‘Oliver please sit down before you wear a trench in the rug,’ she said with a smile before passing one of the glasses to him. 

They had agreed to meet and talk, Oliver had wanted to talk to Felicity and he felt that she was the only one who he could talk to, he knew that there were things he could never tell anyone about what had happened on the island but there were things he needed to tell Felicity about why he put the hood on at night and why he was doing what he was doing. Felicity had suggested grabbing a bottle of wine and ordering Chinese food and talking, she wanted to understand what motivated Oliver to do the things he had done since returning to Starling. 

He took a small drink before placing his glass on the table, took a deep breath and looked at her, it was now or never.

‘The boat was in the south China sea, the weather was supposed to be clear, all the forecasts said it would be sunny and still, the storm came out of nowhere and then,’ he paused for a moment, ‘and then there was an explosion. The boat sank, only three of us managed to escape before it went down, my dad, one of the crew Charlie, I didn’t know his name at the time, and myself. We managed to grab one of the life rafts, and the inflatable vests from it and there we were, stranded in the sea with no idea if anyone had managed to send a distress signal,’ Oliver said before taking another deep breath. 

Felicity took hold of his hand and squeezed it supportively. Oliver immediately felt calmer, she had that effect on him. ‘We floated for about three days although it felt like an eternity. We were freezing, hungry and very thirsty. There was only a small amount of water left and we knew it wouldn’t last much longer. My dad looked at me with such regret and he asked for my forgiveness before he turned to Charlie and produced a gun from somewhere, I still don’t know where he got it from, and he shot him dead; he then turned to me and said I had to survive and right his wrongs. He handed me a note book and then he shot himself in the head.’ Oliver closed his eyes blinking back the tears that threatened to spill, he had to quickly finish or he wouldn’t be able to. 

‘The life raft floated for about another day, it was hard to keep track of time, and then I saw an island and thought I was safe,’ he said with a humourless laugh. ‘I had no idea I had just found hell. I fought my way back here to do as he asked, the notebook contained a list of name of people who had failed Starling City in some way and hurt innocent people and putting on the hood and doing what I have been doing is the only way I can grant my father his dying wish’.

Felicity put her glass on the table and looked at him, silently asking if she could hold him, he gave a small nod and she pulled him into her arms, she knew he wouldn’t tell her much more, not tonight anyway. They held each other for a moment before Felicity pulled back to look at him, she knew that the people targeted by the hood had killed and robbed and hurt innocent families for their own selfish needs, ‘Do you think you could do what you do without killing, unless you have to,’ she asked and he looked at her. ‘Honestly Felicity I don’t know,’ he replied. ‘Can you try?’ she asked looking at the man who she loved deeply. ‘I can try, that’s all I can promise you,’ he said. ‘Then I’ll help,’ she said with a look of determination, ‘you’ll need tech support and I can set you up with comms and anything else you need, you’re not in this alone anymore Oliver’. He pulled her close and held her like she was his lifeline.

Felicity flicked through the TV channels until she found one that were showing old classic episodes of Doctor Who while Oliver paid the delivery driver for the Chinese food he had just delivered. Oliver had wanted to pay for the food but Felicity had insisted that she would pay, this went on for about ten minutes before they finally decided to split the cost.

They chatted while they ate, the TV on low in the background. Oliver looked at Felicity like she was his guardian angel and in a way she was. When he had returned from those five years of hell everything had changed, not just him, the way people (family included) looked at him differently, either with pity or fear. The one person who didn’t make him feel like an outsider was Felicity, she kept him as grounded as possible while giving him love and support and at the same time not expecting or forcing him to be the person he was before he boarded the gambit. 

They were both different people now and although they still loved each other very much they were not rushing back into what they had started before the island, they had to learn who each other were now and they were taking it slowly, getting to know each other as they were now. 

They had begun their relationship as friends and they needed to get that part back as much as possible, their friendship had been the foundation of their relationship and they needed to find their rhythm again as friends before they could try being together romantically. They knew they needed to take their time and not rush into anything, they both knew that they would be together again as a couple but they would need patience and work to get there as they both fought demons that were a result of that ill-fated trip five years previously.

They decided to watch an old movie on TV. Felicity lay on the couch with her legs on Oliver’s lap as they watched the movie. About an hour later Oliver looked over to see the Felicity had fallen asleep, he carefully covered her over with the blanket she kept over the back of the couch. Smiling, he closed his eyes too, no matter what would happen from this point on as long as he had her in his life he would deal with whatever life threw at him, and with that thought he drifted off to sleep.


End file.
